I have this secret that I’ve been carrying around with me my whole life. I’ve always been too scared to tell anyone for fear of what they would say. I want to tell you, but if I do will you promise not to call me names and leave me?
I’ve never eaten oatmeal before.
No, really. I’ve never eaten oatmeal. I mean, sure, yes, I’ve had it in cookies, but I’ve never just sat down with a bowl of oatmeal and ate it. I’ve never even tasted it in that form before. It just looks so icky and, if we’re being honest, a little bit creepy. Like maybe the oatmeal actually wants to eat me, instead of me eating the oatmeal.
You aren’t calling me names, are you?
I hope not, because I think I’ve finally decided to try oatmeal. I made these delicious no bake oatmeal bars yesterday and I actually tasted the plain oatmeal crust and, man, it was good. I doubt regular breakfast oatmeal tastes like this crust does (people don’t generally put 3/4 of a cup of butter in their morning oatmeal, do they?), but I’m willing to give it a go.
For now, let me show you these delicious no bake chocolate peanut butter oatmeal bars. And, yes, they are fairly similar to the chocolate peanut butter oatmeal cookies I just made, but these don’t require baking, are in bar form, and, well, they’re just different, okay?
This recipe is super simple. You melt 3/4 of a cup of butter on the stove, add in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 cup of brown sugar and 3 cups of quick cooking oats. Cook them over low heat for 3 or 4 minutes and then be brave and take a bite. It’s oatmeal and it’s yummy! The mixture is fairly thick and gloppy (mm, appetizing, no?), but that’s how we want it. Just use a spoon and scoop half of the oatmeal into a buttered 8×8 dish and press it down.
Add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup of peanut butter (smooth or chunky, your choice) to a microwave safe bowl and microwave until it’s all melted together. You’ll have to stop the microwave and stir every 30 seconds or so to avoid burning the chocolate.
Pour the chocolate and peanut butter over the top of the oatmeal crust, reserving a couple spoonfuls to drizzle over the top of the bars.
Gently press the reserved oatmeal on top of the chocolate and peanut butter, drizzle with the remaining chocolate and peanut butter and then refrigerate for a few hours.
Go ahead, try ‘em. Just be sure to eat them all as fast as you can before the oatmeal decides to eat you first.
No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Adapted from allrecipes.com
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups quick cooking oats
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or chunky)
1. Melt butter in a large sauce pan over low heat. Stir in brown sugar, vanilla, and oats. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Press half of mixture in to the bottom of a buttered 8 x 8 dish.
2. In a microwave safe bowl, microwave the chocolate and peanut butter, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and blended. Pour the chocolate peanut butter mixture over the crust, reserving a couple of spoonfuls to drizzle over the top.
3. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the chocolate and peanut butter, pressing gently to form a crust. Drizzle the remaining chocolate and peanut butter over the top of the bars.
4. Refrigerate for 3 hours before cutting and serving.
| Tags: chocolate, cookies, desserts 49 comments »
September 13th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Wow those look good. 3/4 cup butter…? OH YEAH!
I don’t really care for “breakfast” oatmeal. At least not the way Dad likes it fixed. I’d much rather take the time to fix baked oatmeal. How can the same basic ingredient taste so different when baked instead of boiled?
September 13th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
I make my breakfast oatmeal like this:
Boil together whole milk & oatmeal until the oats are a consistency you like (I like mine not super-soft). Remove from heat, add brown sugar, butter & either honey or maple syrup (I like honey). Yummy. Way better than instant oatmeal. Milk is the key!!!
Oh, and these bars look delicious!
September 13th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Thanks Karly. Just…thanks. I lost 3 pounds and tomorrow I will consume half of a pan of those freakin’ yummy bars and weigh about 10 pounds more. And BTW, I could have died when I read the directions and saw I had to wait 3 hours. 3 HOURS!!!! Are you kidding me?
honestly, thanks for the yumminess. I’m sure your new relationship with oatmeal will be a healthy one.
September 14th, 2009 at 8:25 am
OH-MY-GOD.
I just had one with my coffee.
I now officially adore you.
September 14th, 2009 at 8:26 am
These sound absolutely delicious!
Do give oatmeal a try, look at it as a fun way to experiment with topping. Try adding in a chopped up banana when it is cooking, and crumble one of your bars on top.
September 14th, 2009 at 9:41 am
I’ve been having a lot of fun with breakfast oatmeal recently. Bananas are good, and I don’t even like bananas! I use the ones that I chop up and freeze when my kids don’t finish it.
Or, stir a spoonful of peanut butter into it when it’s done. If a few semi-sweet chips fall in accidentally, it’s okay to eat it anyway.
My next attempt will be to make it with orange juice, and then add crasins to it. Oatmeal doesn’t have to be boring!
September 14th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
Wow those look good!
September 14th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I’m running out of reasons as to why I shouldn’t make these right now!
These look really fab!
September 15th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Love. Your. Bars.
September 16th, 2009 at 1:15 am
you haven’t been missing much–to me, oatmeal isn’t worth eating unless it’s smothered in brown sugar and cinnamon or maple syrup…or 3/4 cup butter and lots of chocolate.
September 16th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Oh, my goodness! Karly, you are EVIL!! I’m on my way to the pantry to make sure I have all the ingredients, and then tonight is the night!! Like MamaBug, I have also lost 3 lbs., and will be making these regardless. They will be going to work with me tomorrow. Why should I be the only one to gain??
September 16th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Ooops, forgot to tell you, the oatmeal cooked with milk, not water, and then butter added is much better than plain oatmeal. Then you can add whatever sugar you like. That’s how I like it.
September 20th, 2009 at 11:31 am
[...] No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars from Buns in my [...]
September 21st, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Oh my god, my husband has never had oatmeal either!!! I can’t wait to tell him. Or wait, maybe I don’t want to tell him.
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:09 pm
I made these last night and they are heavenly!
I added cinnamon because cinnamon is good for you and it makes me feel better about the butter-sugar
will gladly make these again and again and again.
Thanks!
September 24th, 2009 at 9:48 am
Oh those look wickedly good! Just need a nice big cold glass of milk and a cosy blanket and you’re all set!!
I must say, oatmeal is one of my favourite breakfasts, but I do agree that it can look a little…. not so appealing… if cooked to be too wet and gloopy.
Good on you though for facing those fears and sharing your dirty little secret!
Lovely recipe, gorgeous pics.
September 24th, 2009 at 11:43 am
I just made these. I forgot to butter the dish though. oops. I hope they come out of the dish ok..if not I’ll just scoop it out. lol
September 27th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Chocolate oatmeal bars sound great!
October 1st, 2009 at 4:10 pm
I love your recipes. They all have simple ingredients and are easy to make. I’ve made the garlic bread, strawberry crostada, donut muffins, and blackberry bars. This will be my next recipe! Who needs Betty Crocker when I’ve got you!
October 3rd, 2009 at 9:14 am
I made these on Tuesday night, took them to work with me on Wednesday. I also made them again on Wednesday night and took them to work on Thursday. Now my co-workers are begging for them again.
October 10th, 2009 at 9:58 am
These are fantastic! My husband has been requesting them (and I have been making them)for four straight weeks in a row! I have trimmed the butter down a bit adding some applesauce in it’s place. It adds a different sweetness that is also yummy, but your recipe is excellent! Thank you!
October 13th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Oh my goodness, these look SINFUL. I love it! Can’t wait to try out the recipe!!
October 14th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
Karly, after watching your site from a distance for a while, I now officially want to bear your children. Great twist on an old delight!
October 15th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
These are definitely on my to bake list.
These look fantastic!
October 18th, 2009 at 9:13 am
PUT AWAY THE CAMERA. Stop taking so many pictures for your recipes. They DO NOT add to the readers’ understanding of how to make the recipe. One shot would have been enought for this recipe.
Just because digital “photography” is easy doesn’t mean you have to keep doing it.
October 19th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
jojo…calm down! You are so rude!
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:44 pm
jojo, I like all the photos. I like seeing how the final product comes together.
October 27th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Ah geez. Now I’m going to have to MAKE and EAT these.
I love all the photos. I don’t usually even LIKE reading recipes, but I DO like it if there are lots of photos. I can’t really imagine it otherwise, and what I DO imagine sounds HARD. But when I can see it in the photos, not only does it look DELISH and tempting and make me want to make it, it also makes it seem DOABLE.
November 6th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Thank you for posting this! My husband sent me the link to it. I think it was a hint of some kind
. They were delicious!
November 7th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
Looks delicious! Starbucks has a similar bar with blueberries instead of chocolate and it’s addictive.
November 11th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
Awesome! Just the type of recipe I was looking for!
November 17th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Haha. Your comment about oatmeal trying to eat you is funny, it reminded me of my sister. She’s scared of oatmeal and shudders quite dramatically every time I eat it. :3
November 19th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
These are chilling in the fridge right now. If I don’t guard the kitchen, my kids might be in there with their spoons before dinner. Thanks for the easy recipe — I have a feeling these bars are going to be like Starbucks’ oat-fudge bar, which is a favourite of my husband’s.
January 7th, 2010 at 10:29 am
Umm, well, I was looking for a healthy PB recipe. Ok, oatmeal is healthy right? Even the chocolate is healthy…
(I will start the diet next week).
Thanks!
January 13th, 2010 at 12:07 am
For health concerns, I don’t use a microwave. There isn’t a microwave in my home. Has anyone tried a stove-top version of the recipe?
January 26th, 2010 at 3:05 am
They need to sell these in coffee shops.
January 26th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
Wow, loved it!
As someone said, oatmeal does not need to be plain, boring and tasteless… You can create your own magical bowl. I like boiling it with milk as Casey said, and in my bowl I put sliced or smashed bananas, raisins, pieces of Brazil nuts, almonds, macadamias, whatever nut I have at home and tons of honey. I think a little butter while cooking would be good…
I will do our recipe this week! Can’t wait
January 26th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
I have to make these – they look so yummy! Off to the store to buy ingredients. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
January 30th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
great but wish it could cool faster but other than that amazing thanks!
February 1st, 2010 at 6:24 am
Mmmmmm, they look so tasty, will be trying out the recipe later – thanks for sharing!
February 5th, 2010 at 2:59 am
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I really feel hungry!
Cheers,
Carsten
tasteandshare.com
food social network * wine social network
February 8th, 2010 at 7:32 pm
omg these look so good! i will have to try them!
i especially like the fact that they are “no bake”!
February 10th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
Mmmm……I’m a college student and these looked sooo good so I decided to make them for me, my friends, and my boyfriend. They were easy, fast, relatively inexpensive (I had everything but the chocolate already because I love baking, so I keep the basics stocked in my apt.) and soooo yummy! I definitely recommend them to anyone! Plus, if it has oatmeal, I totally justify it as a breakfast food. Hey, it’s better than leftover Dominoes!
February 13th, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Okay, very tasty treat. As for you adventures in hot cereal, do put ridicules amounts of butter in it, also add honey walnuts raisins and anything else that suits your appetite. I think you will find it more enjoyable that way. If the view still makes you cringe you can make the oats, without the extras, put it into a bread pan and let it sit in the fridge overnight. the next morning remove from pan slice it like bread then flour the slices and pan fry them in butter. add your toppings and you have one terrific way to eat oats.
February 14th, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Dont worry i have never had oatmeal either!
I cant wait to try these out!
February 21st, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Totally delicious!!
February 25th, 2010 at 11:10 am
I love peanut butter, so I cant wait to taste these. I’m drooling just thinking about them
March 3rd, 2010 at 2:52 pm
I’m so lazy, I can’t wait for baking! Sounds yummy…!
March 7th, 2010 at 10:59 am
Oh wow these look yummy. I was looking for non-bake recipes since I’m a University student in residence and I only have a microwave. I think I can handle this recipe just fine in the microwave (Ive already made pasta and squares which didn’t turn out so good). I wonder if I can make these with white sugar…?